Tagged: apple

YouTube app vanished?

ipad-youtubeWTF… went through the iOS update for the iPad sitting in our living room (which remains the only device Apple branded at home) and I could not find the YouTube App any more… it had disappeared, vanished without notice, without warning. I knew that the new Maps app was sucking big time which I have not tried yet but did not hear anything about YouTube app being removed from the front page. What if I had bought this iPad only for that app? Apple really does not care? This is really a good example on why and how a close ecosystem like the one from Apple can be bad and I do not want to be part of.

For those interested Google has released the YouTube app for iPhone and I am sure the iPad one is in the pipeline… in the meantime you can safely use the web version which has all the features needed.

Une application iPhone pour Paléo

Paléo pour ton iPhonePaléo propose une application iPhone… l’idée est sympathique bien que pas original (et surtout l’année passée ce n’était pas réservé aux possesseurs d’un iPhone). Rien de remarquable dans la réalisation… la présentation du programme ne tire pas vraiment avantage des possibilités graphiques de l’iPhone, les “Infos Trafics”, les transports et les plans semblent être présentés de manière très statique comme si elles étaient sorties “as is” d’un document PDF. Tant qu’à développer une application autant en tirer avantage et fournir des services qui ne seraient pas possible via une web app, comme un service de géolocalisation sur la carte, par exemple…
Pour moi c’est le parfait exemple d’un service où le développement d’une “application” ne se justifie pas… une “web app” aurait très bien fait l’affaire, et surtout cela aurait permi à d’autres mobiles (à peu près tous les smartphones existants) de profiter de ce service. Bien sûr c’est moins sexy que de pouvoir dire “disponible via l’AppStore” ;-)

Apple app store sucks (bis)

Russell Beattie: The iPhone Crapp Store?

From the descriptions of most of them [read: applications], I’d say there’s a ton of unmitigated crud flowing into the App Store right now. You don’t read about it because the iPhone is all shiny and new, but with all those apps arriving daily the quality has to be really varied. Really, really varied. And with a few of the App developers making BANK to the tun of a quarter million in like two months, it’s just going to get worse. The sort of press those successes generate may not be good for Apple at all in the long run, as it appears the land-rush is on, and the scammers, spammers and other dregs of online society are closing in fast and I have serious doubts if the iTunes Store is really made to keep up.

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The dark side of Apple’s app store

The news is making some noise (PC World):

A new Podcasting application has been refused entry into the App Store because it “duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes,” […] The new application called Podcaster would allow users to download podcasts on their iPhone and listen to them at their leisure. The app also streams podcasts so you could listen to your favorite show anywhere you have an Internet or data connection.

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First weeks with an iPhone

I did it. Few weeks back I bought the iPhone 3G… I had to find out what this is all about and I have to admit that this is quite a nice device (and it comes from a Nokia fan :-).

I am still using my Nokia N95 as my main phone for three main reasons:

  • I have not yet found the time to synch my agenda/contacts with Outlook (for some reason my iPhone is not recognised by iTunes on my laptop)
  • Lack of connectivity while traveling. I use my laptop in the train to work and I like to be connected at the same time (through Bluetooth with my N95 as a 3G modem). I am not quite sure but my understanding is that I will not be able to do that with the iPhone.
  • Battery life sucks… we have heard lot of complaints about Nokia’s battery, but the iPhone one is worse than any other one

There are more and more iPhone/mobile dedicated website which makes the browsing experience on a mobile device really pleasant. Being able to browse normal website is nice (especially with the zoom in-out feature) but not perfect.

To complete the iPhone experience I should try to use it as my main phone and actually use all the phone features… will come back once this is done :-)

Related: What I’ve Missed About the S60 Experience

iPhone hype sucks but…

iPhone(written some time ago but never published… not sure why! I bumped into it when preparing another iPhone post to come :-)

Like always Apple’s new product get a lot of press and a lot of traction (with a musical, but yes it blends).

Even though it has a full capabilities browser (ie. a browser that can read any webpage, like most “smart”-phone), it still needs a special “web” development to the point that Apple releases some guidelines. As Russell says:

No matter how great a mobile device’s power is and how much resolution it has, we still have to keep the thing in our POCKETS, use it with our FINGERS, and see it with our EYES. This means that there are physical restraints on mobile applications – both normal and web based – which apply no matter what. This is actually why I think the iPhone is so wonderful since it finally proves the point once and for all: Mobile is different.

iPhone might help mobile web development, that’s for the good. For the bad, it would be nice to use standard technology. Apple seems to have created its own subset of CSS to handle graphics on the iPhone.

Interesting reading:
Russell Beattie: i-Dot Thoughts
Vision Mobile: How iPhone is impacting the mobile industry